{"id":3116,"date":"2019-03-01T17:04:27","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T17:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/?p=3116"},"modified":"2022-03-11T05:55:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T11:55:02","slug":"painting-roof-skoolie-bus-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/painting-roof-skoolie-bus-conversion\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Paint &#038; Seal a Skoolie Roof"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How to paint a skoolie roof&#8230;it&#8217;s an important thing to get right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Building inside a skoolie is like playing three-dimensional tetris, and once things are built in&#8230;there&#8217;s no going back.  You do <em>not<\/em> want water leaking into your roof, into your ceiling, and down your walls.  You would have to demo a lot of your build just to get to the damage.  No bueno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So yes, painting the roof of your skoolie is a crucially important step!&nbsp; Painting with silicone paint creates a water-tight &#8220;cap&#8221; completely sealing off your roof, preventing water from leaking in through all the rivets and seams up there.  The way we sealed the roof and <a href=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/sealing-school-bus-windows\/\">the way we sealed the windows<\/a> has provided us with a huge peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So let&#8217;s dive in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DpJRGVBv0Wg\" width=\"760\" height=\"415\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tools &amp; Materials Required for Painting &amp; Sealing a Skoolie Roof:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A pair of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00002N6IT\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00002N6IT&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=artwethereyet-20&amp;linkId=1a1d586b77603582caeb0c7a9a381538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6-in-1 Painter&#8217;s Tools<\/a>&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp; you will use this tool a&nbsp;<strong><em>million<\/em><\/strong><em> times during your conversion!!<\/em><\/li><li>A drill <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BSiGJM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wire brush attachment<\/a><\/li><li>A pressure washer (or some serious muscle!)<\/li><li>A degreaser (we used <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3hgHcL8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simple Green<\/a>)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B008QDSVPE\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B008QDSVPE&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=artwethereyet-20&amp;linkId=c52c7a2046d9fd03662075b91cd426e3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prep-All<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3IkqSVs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">100% silicone caulking<\/a> (buy this in bulk because you will use it over and over in your conversion)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/354HVfO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Masking tape<\/a> (also a smart idea to buy in bulk)<\/li><li>A ladder<\/li><li>Large and small paint rollers with a tray<\/li><li>2 gallons of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B01LYNWNXY\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B01LYNWNXY&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=artwethereyet-20&amp;linkId=8996c311e42c9c47991f160ea23a0111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henry&#8217;s Tropicool<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" style=\"color: rgb(49, 49, 49); margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=artwethereyet-20&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B01LYNWNXY\" alt=\"\"><\/a>&nbsp;(WELL worth the investment, believe us!)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Full disclosure guys, some of these are affiliate links, so we get a commission if you buy something from the list.\u00a0 As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.\u00a0 Not much, but something.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>This is really important<\/strong>: we\u00a0<em><strong>only<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0link to tools and materials we actually used and\u00a0highly\u00a0recommend. We do these guides completely for free, so these links are the only way we get a little something back (except for the satisfaction of knowing we helped\u00a0<em>you<\/em>\u00a0build your dream skoolie, of course!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t have Amazon Prime yet?\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/tryprimefree?ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1427739975520&amp;_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=pf4&amp;tag=artwethereyet-20&amp;linkId=74f461080ddf921de48118000bf197db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Here\u2019s a link for 30 days free.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1 &#8211; Remove the old caulking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use the painter&#8217;s tool to remove as much of the old caulking sealant as possible.\n<ul>\n<li>You&#8217;ll see in the video that we also used a caulk-remover power tool, but eventually just shifted to using two of the painter&#8217;s tools because it worked a lot better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>Use the wire brush attachment to scrap away the stubborn bits of caulking.&nbsp; This also helps to get wear the seams down to a smooth, clean surface.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2 &#8211; Pressure wash<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use a pressure washer to clean the roof completely.&nbsp; If you don&#8217;t have a pressure washer, go to town with a degreaser and a washcloth.\n<ul>\n<li>You may think it dumb that we removed the caulking before the pressure wash.&nbsp; Water is going right into the bus, guys!!&nbsp; Yes, true.&nbsp; BUT, the inside ceiling panels had already been removed from the bus, and inside was basically still an empty shell with a subfloor (which we protected) and nothing more.&nbsp; It was more important that every square inch of the roof be completely cleaned, ESPECIALLY the areas that were going to be re-caulked.&nbsp; If we power-washed, then removed the old caulking, then those seams would be dirty still and would require some serious time cleaning by hand.&nbsp; And actually, not a lot of water came into the bus when we pressure washed the roof.&nbsp; I (Cora) stayed inside while Jose washed, and we only had a little seep through the roof vent.&nbsp; The seams actually stayed very dry!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3 &#8211; Prep and re-seal the seams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use Prep-All along the seams to degrease and completely prep each area that is going to be re-sealed with 100% silicone<\/li><li>Re-seal every single seam (ANYWHERE where there is a joint between metal pieces) with a solid bead of 100% silicone\n<ul>\n<li><b>A WORD TO THE WISE.<\/b>&nbsp;If you plan to paint your roof with something&nbsp;<em>other<\/em> than 100% silicone paint (like Henry&#8217;s Tropicool), do NOT caulk with 100% silicone!&nbsp; Instead use a paintable silicone or a different caulking of your choosing).&nbsp; The reason is that NOTHING sticks to 100% silicone except silicone.&nbsp; If you use 100% silicone to seal the seams and then attempt to paint with a latex, water, or oil-based paint&#8230;..it will NEVER stick to that 100% silicone caulking you used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>Allow the silicone to completely cure before proceeding (check the time given on the tube).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 4 &#8211; Tape off the roof<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Decide how far down the roof paint is going to go, and then tape off that barrier.&nbsp; The tape will allow the boundary between roof paint and your exterior paint to form a CLEAN line. <ul><li>You&#8217;ll notice that we painted the roof before priming and painting the rest of the bus.&nbsp; That was dumb.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t do that.&nbsp; Prime and paint your bus, and THEN paint the roof.&nbsp; It&#8217;s just easier.&nbsp; Trying to protect the roof from overspray during priming was a paint in the a$$.&nbsp; Also, you know how we mentioned NOTHING sticks to silicone but silicone itself?&nbsp; This includes tape.&nbsp; Tape won&#8217;t stick to silicone.&nbsp; So this meant that when we were painting the bus exterior and had to paint right next to the silicone roof paint&#8230;.we couldn&#8217;t use tape to make painting a straight line easy.&nbsp; We had to very carefully hand paint along the barrier with the roof paint.&nbsp; It was a time consuming pain-in-the-butt. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 5 &#8211; Paint!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Position the bus in a shaded area if possible.&nbsp; Painting with this stuff in full sun would be like painting with marshmallow goo.<\/li><li>You&#8217;ll see that we painted the roof in three stages: side, side, top.<\/li><li>Have one person on the roof and one person on a ladder next to the bus.&nbsp; Have a large roller and a small roller ready to go.&nbsp; Have the tray and Tropicool up on top of the bus.\n<ul>\n<li>You&#8217;ll notice in the video that we started off with a paintbrush on the seams.&nbsp; We quickly found that using the small roller worked much better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>Poor a small amount of Tropicool into the tray, then quickly re-cap the can.&nbsp; Coordinate together to paint the section you are working on, using the big roller for large areas and the little roller for the seams.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t be skimpy with the paint.&nbsp; Lay it on nice and thick.&nbsp; Make sure the paint form a complete seal along <strong>every seam<\/strong> and over <strong>every single rivet<\/strong>.&nbsp; When you have that section finished, move down the bus together and complete another section.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re in the shade, it won&#8217;t dry as quickly and you&#8217;ll be able to smooth out the overlap between each section.&nbsp; Each time you need more Tropicool, poor a little into the tray.<\/li><li>Repeat this process on the other side of the bus.<\/li><li>One person paint the very top of the bus starting from back to front.<\/li><li>Allow the paint to cure completely, then do a second coat.&nbsp; We were able to do two full coats with 1.5 cans of Tropicool, so we did NOT need to splurge for the 5-gallon bucket.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Henry&#8217;s Tropicool really worth it?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">YES.&nbsp; No one is paying us to say this.&nbsp; Really, honestly, we are SO grateful we used this stuff.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The day after completing the second coat we IMMEDIATELY noticed a difference in temperature inside the bus.&nbsp; You put one hand on the metal that was painted over and the metal still exposed to the sun and the temperature difference was incredible.&nbsp; We are traveling to mostly hot areas, so this means a lot to us.&nbsp; You may be thinking&#8230;.yep&#8230;that&#8217;s &#8217;cause the paint is white.&nbsp; Why not just use a cheaper white paint then?&nbsp; Here&#8217;s why..<\/li><li>It&#8217;s not just about temperature control.&nbsp; It&#8217;s also about leak control.&nbsp; The 100% silicone causes a consistent seal across every nook and cranny and rivet in your roof.&nbsp; We have been in probably 30 torrential rain storms (we were in Florida when Dorian passed by).&nbsp; TORRENTIAL rain.&nbsp; We haven&#8217;t had a single leak.&nbsp; Not from the roof.&nbsp; Not from the windows (we also spent a lot of energy <a href=\"http:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/05\/sealing-school-bus-windows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sealing them up RIGHT<\/a>).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For us, protecting the build from mold and water damage was WELL worth the $120 for two cans of Tropicool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next up, <a aria-label=\"applying the exterior paint (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/20\/priming-school-bus-exterior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">priming the exterior!<\/a>&nbsp; (As we said before, PLEASE do this before painting the roof.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&lt;&lt; Back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/skoolie-bus-conversion-ultimate-guide\/\">Skoolie Conversion Ultimate Guide Homepage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2896\" height=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel.png\" alt=\"art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel\" class=\"wp-image-5344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel.png 2896w, https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel-1536x164.png 1536w, https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel-2048x219.png 2048w, https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel-1170x125.png 1170w, https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel-1920x206.png 1920w, https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/art-we-there-yet-skoolie-bus-travel-585x63.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2896px) 100vw, 2896px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"so-you-re-building-a-skoolie-huh\">So you\u2019re building a skoolie, huh?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We feel your pain, my friend! We also know how good it feels to finally make a dream reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/skoolie-bus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Our skoolie<\/a>&nbsp;took 9 months and $28,000 to complete. We documented the entire build and are slowly building<a href=\"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/skoolie-bus-conversion-ultimate-guide\/\">&nbsp;a series of guides<\/a>&nbsp;on every step of the bus conversion process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We spent a&nbsp;<em>crap ton<\/em>&nbsp;of time figuring out how to do this and that. We also could have saved a few bucks along the way.  We hope our tutorials help save you some time and money!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"our-top-5-bus-conversion-tools-materials\">Our TOP 5 Bus Conversion Tools &amp; Materials:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3v7iFjJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5-in-1 Painters Tool<\/a> (you will use this a MILLION times)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3LSJ2Qj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Impact Driver &amp; Drill Combo Kit<\/a> (there won\u2019t be a day you won\u2019t use this)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3IeX1gX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">100% Silicone<\/a> (buy in bulk to save a LOT of money!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/36y3vtA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Angle Grinder<\/a> (get used to using this ALL the time!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3513I7Z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Table Saw <\/a>(it will be nearly impossible to complete your conversion without this. It\u2019s WORTH the investment!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This\u00a0page contains product affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to paint a skoolie roof&#8230;it&#8217;s an important thing to get right. Building inside a skoolie is like playing three-dimensional tetris, and once things are built in&#8230;there&#8217;s no going back. You do&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-bus-conversion-tutorials","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5653,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions\/5653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artwethereyet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}